The Sharpie King

Immy Mellin, “The Sharpie King,” displayed his work at Uptown Arts Center

Louisville’s Art Outreach

“LVAA stands for the Louisville Visual Art Association. We provide art education, community outreach, exhibitions, and services for local artists.” Thus is the description I received from Mary Margaret Carlton, the Communications Coordinator for the association.  LVAA, which celebrated its centennial year last year, just recently celebrated another advancement – a full transition to the digital universe.  With a new website and aggressive use of social media such as facebook and twitter, LVAA has brought Louisville art to the rest of the world.  They have also commenced to help local artists and artist groups utilize social media to their benefit.  Their aim in doing so is to serve the artists in the Louisville area and connect the Louisville community to the visual arts emerging here.  The use of such media has had a dramatic impact on turnout for the events they host.

LVAA, founded in 1909, is the oldest arts organization in the state of Kentucky.  Serving upwards of 1000 artists a year, they host a plethora of events and classes to educate Louisvillians on the arts.  The newest events they had added to their annual roster are the Louisville Buy Local First Fair and the Louisville Paint-Out, both in 2009.  According to Carlton, the Buy Local First Fair hosted over 4,000 people last year and they have plans to expand this year.  “We were excited to start the fair because it’s an event promoting Louisville local culture featuring artists, craftsmen, farmers, and businessmen,” said Carlton.  The Paint-Out was also highly successful as the only plain-air competition in Louisville.  The artists were required to go around the city and paint or draw original works and bring them back to be judged for cash awards or exhibition opportunity.

Although the new events were a hit, the most successful event is one of the longest standing – The Louisville Art Auction.  In speaking on the auction Carlton said, “In Conjunction with the University of Louisville we host the Louisville Art Auction which is an upscale fine art auction representing local and regional artists. All of the proceeds benefit our Children’s Fine Art Classes program and the U of L Mary Spencer Nay Scholarship.”  The auction is a means to bring local and regional art to the public eye and raise money for charities.  The LVAA’s Children’s Fine Art Classes work with students who are visually talented students to help advance the skills they possess.  The Mary Spencer Nay scholarship is awarded to University of Louisville students on the basis of merit and pays the entire in-state tuition costs for a full year.  The auction is scheduled for November 12^th and a large turnout is expected.

The most recent impending events for LVAA are the Ragin’ Cajun party on August 7^th and the Vian Sora exhibit opening on August 10^th.  The Ragin’ Cajun is a party to be hosted at the Water Tower to showcase Louisiana art, music, and culture.  Vian Sora is an Iraqi-born artist who has relocated to Louisville with her family.  Her vivid paintings draw from cultures and traditions of the Middle East and are highly character-driven. You can find more information on LVAA and it’s events at www.louisvillevisualart.org, and you can find more information on Vian Sora at www.viansora.com.

Louisville Visual Art Association has been a staple in Louisville art and culture for decades and it continues to serve the Louisville area artists and community.  Their events strive to educate and inform the public on the visual arts and give back to the community that supports them.  They are a not-for-profit organization that provides a continuum of visual arts programming and community outreach.

28 July 2010

Pop Culture in the Heart of the Highlands

What constitutes art has always fascinated people.  Louisville’s art community has always been thriving, but there haven’t always been many places seeking to propel amateur artists into the public eye.  Ultra Pop, located at 1414 Bardstown Road, has sought to become that place of refuge for young artists seeking to create art the way they want to.  Paul LePree the owner/proprietor describes his store as thus, “Ultra Pop is a retail store that I created after being inspired by numerous stores I have visited on the west coast.  I had to take several concepts and try to put them all together under one room given the smaller market in Louisville.  I like to think I sell art regardless of the medium, whether it’s prints, toys (3-D art), books, clothing, or whatever else I find that I feel has artistic or cultural merit.”  LePree felt the need for a central hub for underground and lowbrow art so he combined this growing need with his love for all art mediums and Ultra Pop was born.

Ultra Pop opened in July 2007 in the heart of the Highlands.  LePree felt that, after living here for 6 years, he enjoyed the area and Louisville was ready for a concept like Ultra Pop.  LePree says that he enjoys the neighborhood feel of the Highlands and takes joy in knowing his UPS driver and mailman by their first names.  Lepree’s retail experience reaches through two decades.  He began working in local comic and record shops, which drove his passion for local business.  After working in corporate retail and climbing the ladder up to multi-store management he felt the need to return to his roots in local business.  Lepree wanted to open a store based on the community that supports it and support the local artists in the area.

“A painting does not need to sell for thousands of dollars to be considered art or have merit,” said LePree, and it seems as though this has become his mantra.  His personal favorite art forms include handmade toys (3-D art) from Japan and a handful of paintings he has collected over the years.  Ultra Pop is a concept driven by art in any medium and by those who make it.  LePree’s description of his store as a “hub” for the art community is not without merit as he constantly seeks to put local artists on display and make Ultra Pop a welcoming place for anyone interested in art.  “I try to get out as much as I can and discover artists that don’t have a presence in the community already.” LePree said, “I throw art shows monthly not only to expose the public to undiscovered artists, but to make art accessible to people that normally wouldn’t go to a gallery show.”

The current exhibit at Ultra Pop is titled Super Kaiju Big Fun, and features paintings by local artist Daniel Butler and will be on display until this Friday.  His paintings are inspired by many of the elements one would see in Ultra Pop, old Japanese monster movies and horror movies.  All of the artwork on display during a show is available for sale and the prices of Butler’s work ranges from $35 to $60.  LePree has also acted as a big brother figure to budding artists in the community such as Daniel, as this was his first show.  I had a chance to witness the set up of the show and LePree handled it like an old pro.  He coached Butler through his nerves and helped him to frame all the work and price it.  In speaking with Butler he says that, “Ultra Pop has provided a way for me to wedge my foot in the door with the Louisville art community.  As I am an up and coming artist, I feel that I have a real opportunity to expand my “business” as an artist with Paul [LePree]’s help.”  Butler even mentions that his time at Ultra Pop and spent with LePree has opened his eyes to new art mediums, especially that of the 3-D art vinyl toys sold at Ultra Pop.  He is grateful for LePree and the store as he says, “Ultra-Pop has truly expanded my horizons. Whereas I thought that my only opportunity as an artist might be in the comic book or fine art field, I found that I could do more in my own niche. I didn’t have the fine art training to do Da Vinci or Van Gogh or Rembrandt type pieces to get a community built around me.”

Ultra Pop’s next art exhibit is starting this Friday, succeeding Butler’s, and it features an artist from Ohio, Jeffery Lamm whose art is based primarily on Japanese monster movies, punk rock culture, and hot rod art.  LePree is doing as much as he can to even bring art from different areas and communities to Louisville in order to help inspire the local artists.  “We all have something to learn from one another,” he says, “and I have learned much from these artists I know around the country.  I am just trying to bring them to Louisville to show guys like [Butler] what they have shown me.”   In September LePree is hosting another local artist, Ron Jason “Madpixel”, in his first solo show.  He also plans on doing his first Halloween-themed group show in October.  Although the possibilities seem endless for what Ultra Pop can do and create, the economy is wearing on LePree.  When asked to describe his plight as a local business owner in this economy he said, “It is very challenging right now.  When people don’t have alot of extra spending money, there are more important priorities than purchasing art and toys.”  LePree is a friend to all who meet him and a dedicated supporter of Louisville and it’s art community.

2 August 2010

Ultra Pop!

Here is another video that Karie Portman and I made for our Online Journalism class.  It showcases Ultra Pop!, an art store in our home town.